


Sons of Man

by schmulte



Category: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Genre: Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Greek Mythology - Freeform, Happy Ending, I know it says MCD but it's a happy ending I promise!, M/M, Miscommunication, Not Beta Read, Prophecy, everything will be ok, it's a Percy Jackson au!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-23 10:07:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30053802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schmulte/pseuds/schmulte
Summary: Alex, son of Aphrodite, wants nothing more than to go on a quest, something his rival, son of Poseidon Henry, has already done. When a prophecy forces them together, they go on the quest of their lives to retrieve a magical item.Firstprince Percy Jackson au!
Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor
Comments: 5
Kudos: 22





	Sons of Man

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Please know that this is not an au that follows the plot of the Percy Jackson books- there are elements from the books, but the quest is completely new, so there aren't any spoilers if you haven't read the books. If that sounds like your cup of tea, please enjoy!  
> Also, Zahra and Shaan here are the equivalent of Chiron and Mr. D. I just thought it would be more fun that way.

Alex didn’t want to be a halfblood. If he could have chosen to have any other life, he would have. But kids don’t get much say in who their parents are. 

The trouble began for Alex when he was ten. He’d had the signs before then, of course- the ADHD, the dyslexia. He couldn’t sit still for more than a few seconds at a time; he was constantly getting in trouble for distracting other kids, even though it wasn’t really his fault. His older sister, June, struggled with the same, but she managed it better than Alex. His dad used to say that June was like water and Alex was fire, and that’s why they love each other so much. 

His father hadn’t told him much before then. June knew, because she was older, but as far as Alex was concerned, his mom lived somewhere far away, and she was busy, and she didn’t get a lot of time away to visit. A difficult reality for a ten year old, but a simpler. 

But then a manticore had attacked him on a class field trip to the zoo, and things got more difficult to explain. 

He started camp that summer, moving in to Cabin 10 after the first night when the symbol of a dove had appeared over his head. Since then, he’s trained, and excelled, and learned to hone is hyperactivity. He’s made a few friends- well, one friend, aside from his sister. Nora, a daughter of Hephesteus and the smartest person Alex knows, is who he’d call his best friend. He had a brief fling with Liam from the Hermes cabin a few summers ago, but other than that, there’s just Nora and June. 

Nora may be the smartest person he knows, and June the cleverest, but Alex is the strongest. It’s been his goal since he got to camp, to be the best. Stronger than the children of Ares, faster than the Hermes kids, braver than the children of Athena. Children of Aphrodite don’t have the best reputations as fighters, so it’s all the more important for Alex to excel so he can be trusted with a quest. Because that’s really all he wants- a chance to prove himself; to the rest of camp, to his siblings, to his mom. And he’d been well on his way to getting that quest, once. Until Henry.

Henry Wales: son of Poseidon and a real-life, honest-to-god  _ princess _ , three-time capture the flag champion, and eternal pain in Alex’s ass. He’s technically been at camp longer than Alex, since he was seven, but he hadn’t shown up on Alex’s radar until years after, when he was twelve and Henry was thirteen. 

Everyone knew then that there was a quest up for grabs- a rare one, the kind that didn’t require a prophecy. They were being watched carefully, Zahra and Shaan, two half-bloods turned immortals who run the camp, scoping out their champion carefully. Every game, every class, every ancient Greek history lesson, was a test. All of it culminated in a rousing game of capture the flag; everyone knew it would be the final test, the deciding factor. 

Alex was winning- was  _ supposed _ to win. He’d strategized, he’d charmspoken his way into alliances, he’d trained until his fingers bled. 

Henry cheated. Alex still doesn’t know how, but he’s sure he did. Because one moment, Alex was on his way to winning, and the next, he was soaked to the bone and hanging upside-down from a tree and Henry was holding his team’s flag. 

Since his quest, Henry has taken top spot as the camp’s chief golden boy, and Alex’s bitterest rival. June says it’s a stupid grudge to hold, that there’s no way he cheated, that it was years ago and he should be over it by now. But Alex knows things she doesn’t; that quest leaders get to pick companions, that Henry had flat out refused to bring Alex with him when Chiron suggested it. That he’d said things about Alex, things like  _ weak  _ and  _ useless  _ and  _ only skilled in putting on makeup.  _ Henry had opted to take Nora instead, a choice Alex couldn’t argue with, and Pez, son of Dionysus and Henry’s best friend. They’d come back victorious, and Henry has been an arrogant prick every day since. Alex is seventeen now, and he’s running out of time. If he doesn’t get his quest now...he might not live long enough to get another chance. 

Today, Henry’s stupidly perfect face is red and dripping with sweat as he spars with Pez. His sword, a gift from his father, is gripped tightly in his hand. His hair is golden in the sunshine, the brown leather of his armor a perfect contrast, strong thighs in a wide stance in the sand. Stupid strong muscles, stupid smooth skin, stupid perfect hair--

“Hey!” Nora snaps a finger in front of his face. “Quit drooling over Henry and help me, loverboy.”

Alex huffs and turns his attention back to Nora. “I was  _ not  _ drooling.”

She just rolls her eyes. They’re sitting cross-legged on the grass, June on her back tanning beside them. There’s some kind of mechanical contraption on the ground in front of her that she’s fiddling with, tongue poking out between her teeth and brows furrowed in concentration. 

“Nora?” June calls from her spot in the grass. “Likelihood that Alex was literally drooling over Henry’s spectacular ass?”

“I’d say a solid ninety-eight.”

“Fuck both y’all,” Alex protests. “I was not drooling. And even if I was, it was  _ not _ over Henry’s ass.”

“Whatever you say, Alex. But we both know you’ve got a thing for leather.”

Alex swats her arm. “What are you building anyway?”

“I’m not building. I’m _ fixing.  _ And it’s a surprise.” She fixes her gaze past Alex’s shoulder, and smiles in a way that scares him. “Oh, hi Henry.”

Alex’s breath catches in his throat. He can practically feel Henry behind him, the heat radiating off his body. 

“Hello, Nora,” he says in that ridiculous accent- honestly, don’t they have a camp like this in Europe where he could annoy people that aren’t Alex? “New project?”

“Present for Alejandro. Say hello, Alex.” 

Alex looks over his shoulder at Henry, who looks just as gorgeous as he predicted. Damn him. 

“Hello, Henry.”

He tries not to be pleased with the bob of Henry’s Adam’s apple as he swallows. “Alex.”

“You look...sweaty.”

“Yes, well,” the tips of Henry’s ears redden and he rubs the back of his neck. “Sparring.”

Alex raises an eyebrow. “Right.”

Henry clears his throat. “I’ll see you in archery, Nora. Alex.”

He walks away quickly; Alex can see Pez throwing an arm around his shoulder and whispering into his ear. 

“Well that was fucking awkward.”

“It wouldn’t have been if you weren’t such a dick to him. Honestly, Alex, he’s not a bad guy. Not to mention he saved my life on our quest.”

“Don’t bother, Nora,” June interjects. “He’s never gonna let it go.” 

“And why should I?” Alex snaps. “You two don’t get it. You went on your quests already, you’ve proven yourselves. I haven’t, and I might not...I might not get a chance.”

June sits up and pushes her glasses up on her head. “Alex…”

“I’m gonna be late for sparring. I’ll see y’all later.”

He gets up before they can stop him and goes to the only quiet place he can think of right now. But when he gets to the lake, Henry is there, bare feet just barely skimming the surface of the water from the dock. Of course. Alex is stupid for coming here, of course Henry would be here, the son of the fucking sea god. Of course he’d be here now, when Alex is choking down frustrated tears. 

Henry twists over his shoulder when he notices him, eyes a little wide. 

“Sorry,” Alex chokes out. “I didn’t think anyone would be here- I’ll just--”

“Please,” Henry says, quiet and calm. “You’re welcome to sit. I don’t mind.”

Keeping a skeptic eye out, Alex sits on the opposite end of the dock, as far from Henry as possible. The silence settles heavily around them, and Alex sneaks a glance at Henry. He looks at peace, eyes closed, head tilted back towards the sun. He’s changed out of his armor, now in a tee shirt and shorts, sleeves rolled up to reveal a glimpse of a tattoo, a gold band circling his upper arm. His lifeline. 

“Do you talk to your dad a lot?” Alex blurts out. He doesn’t know why he feels the need to talk to Henry right now; he tells himself it’s because he doesn’t like the silence. He’d do this with anyone. 

Henry opens an eye and looks over at him, cheeks tinted pink with sunburn. “Sometimes. He’s busy, most of the time.”

“Oh,” Alex says dumbly. “I just thought, since he has less kids…”

Henry shrugs. “He’s still a god. But I don’t mind much. I have my mum, and my brother and my sister.”

“They don’t go to camp?”

“My siblings are mortal. My father didn’t meet my mother until after her first husband died. Lung cancer.”

“Shit.”

“Precisely,” Henry hums. “What about you? Do you speak to your mother much?”

Alex looks down and kicks at the ripples in the water with the toe of his shoe. “Not really. She’s busy, y’know. But she’ll send messages, sometimes, or gifts.”

“Does she know? About your charmspeak?”

“Yeah. June has it too, think it’s genetic, or something.”

Henry chuckles, as if recalling a fond memory and not talking to his worst enemy about their absent parents. “She used it on me once, you know. Convinced me to let her do my eyebrows, the maniac.  _ You’ll be fine, Henry, _ she said,  _ your skin can’t be that sensitive _ .”

“I remember that,” Alex smiles despite himself. “Your whole forehead was red for weeks.” 

Henry laughs, full and clear, and Alex thinks it might be the first time he’s actually heard Henry laugh like that. Maybe it’s the first time he’s heard Henry laugh at all. It quiets again, and the tension has faded, but it’s still there, hanging in the air between them as they both look down at the water. Henry sucks in a deep breath next to him. 

“I know you’re still angry with me about the quest,” he says quietly. “and I don’t blame you. But please know that, no matter what rumours you’ve heard, it had nothing to do with your capabilities.”

Alex scoffs. “Yeah. Right.”

“It’s true.” Henry turns suddenly to look at him, splashing a little water on his legs in the process. “You’re a much better fighter than I am. You would have made an excellent hero, and I’m truly sorry that you haven’t gotten the chance to show that. But you have to understand, I couldn’t let you go on that quest with me.”

“I don’t  _ have _ to do anything.” He meets Henry’s gaze now, squinting gold against wide blue. Fire and water. “I don’t know why you’re trying to be so nice to me all of a sudden, but just forget it, okay? You made your choice, I made mine, it’s over, that’s it.”

“Alex--”

He stands up and dusts off his shorts, pointedly avoiding Henry’s gaze. “I’m going to see Zahra.” 

Henry does not try to stop him, and Alex does not think about the miniscule part of him that wishes he would. He marches straight to the Big House, wet converse squelching on the wood of the porch, and walks right into Zahra’s office.

“Oh boy,” Zahra folds her arms across her chest. “I know that look. What’s got your pants in a twist now?”

“I wanna see the oracle.”

Zahra lets out a singular  _ ha _ . “No.”

“I’m not asking this time. I’m going to see her, and you can’t stop me.”

She does nothing, letting Alex push past her and up the stairs to the attic. She’s learned, at this point, that after a while she needs to let Alex do the thing she doesn’t want him to do so he can learn from his mistakes, and maybe listen to her next time. There’s no harm in it. Most of the time. 

The attic is dark and dusty, the only light spilling in through the cracks in the floorboards. It smells acrid, like patchouli and old rags and death. Green smoke curls around his ankles. 

“ _ Approach _ ,” a voice says, ancient-sounding and deep. Alex steps forward. 

“ _ Son of Aphrodite _ ,” it continues. “ _ You have waited many years, and your time has finally come. Approach, and hear your destiny _ .” A little thrill runs up Alex’s spine at the promise. He keeps walking, but he can’t see anything through the slowly building smoke, no idea where the voice could be coming from. 

Something grabs his hand, and Alex’s world goes dark, save for the voice whispering in his ear.

“ _ Half-bloods of the sea and love _

_ Shall either fail or rise above. _

_ What was lost will soon be found _

_ One left to live, the other, drowned.” _

Alex wakes up in the infirmary. There’s a bandage around his head and a pounding behind his eyes, and for a moment he can’t remember how he got here. But then he sees Zahra, looking pissed off as ever, but there’s worry lining her face, and Alex remembers. Henry, the attic, the smoke. The prophecy. The  _ prophecy. _

“Zahra,” he says, scrambling to sit up. The motion makes him a little woozy, but he manages to keep himself upright and conscious. “The prophecy--”

“I heard it.”

“What was lost? What am I supposed to find?”

Zahra sighs, pinches the bridge of her nose. “Slow down, Alex. You have a concussion.”

“I’m fine, Zahra, what do I need to find?” She hesitates. “Z?”

She leans in and lowers her voice. “Poseidon’s trident. It’s been stolen.”

“Shit,” Alex breathes. “And...I’m supposed to find it with a child of Poseidon?” He really hopes she’s not going to say what he thinks she’s going to say. “No. No, no, no.”

“You got what you always wanted, kid.” She pats his shoulder not unkindly. “You and Henry are going on a quest.”

  
  



End file.
